Always
by Lilianne-Rachelle
Summary: How did Andromeda Black end up with Ted Tonks over the prejudice of his status? Andromeda would give anything to be as carefree as Tonks. Ted was always curious how such a pretty girl like Black could be so distant. Hogwarts time. Sequel &Forever is up
1. Hogwarts: 1st to 4th Year

**Summary:**

_Just how did Andromeda Black end up with Ted Tonks? A story about how a Pureblood and Muggle-born got together through the prejudice of their status. Andromeda had always wanted to be free and would give anything to be as carefree as Ted. Ted was always curious how such a pretty girl like Andromeda could be so distant. First year through Seventh and on after Hogwarts. ABTT_

**1964: ****First Year**

Andromeda Black walked down the Hogwarts Express with her long and curly light-brown hair swishing behind her. She was on her way back from changing into robes. Bellatrix had insisted that her younger sister changed out of those horrible Mudblood clothes as soon as possible. Andromeda, or Andie as her friends and family called her, thought that the Muggle clothes weren't all that bad; they were quite comfortable and pretty, too. But she understood her family's value of _Toujours pur_ and, of course, her family meant everything to her.

As she had almost reached her compartment, she ran into a skinny boy with dirty blond hair. She glared at him as he muttered a sorry. He opened his mouth to say something else but she had already walked into her compartment and the door slid shut. She didn't even see the confused look on his face. Really, a boy like _him_ was far off the radar of Andromeda Black.

---------------------------

He muttered a sorry as he accidentally ran into the girl with the long, brown hair. He was going to introduce himself and was going to ask for her name when she had already shut the compartment door on him. Confused, Ted Tonks continued on his way to the washroom. He wondered how such a pretty girl could be so cold. Just like an _I__ce __Q__ueen_, he named her secretly.

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"Slytherin!" the Sorting Hat yelled.

Andie took off the hat and walked down the hall to join her sister, Bellatrix, at the Slytherin table. It really was no surprise that she was sorted there, seeing as almost her whole family had been there. She waited impatiently, not paying attention at all at the sorting, until a familiar boy walked up to the stool. She briefly remembered the Deputy Headmaster calling him Ted Tonks and that the Sorting Hat had sorted him to Hufflepuff. However, her attention quickly turned to the food as the feast began.

---------------------------

Relieved, Ted hopped off the stool to join the Hufflepuffs. Several older students clapped and smiled kindly at him as they made space for him on the bench to sit down. When the Headmaster finished his speech, he gasped in surprise as the food suddenly appeared before him. The fifth year beside him chuckled at his surprise. Ted blushed and smiled back ruefully as he started on his meal. Through the crowds of students, he caught a glimpse of chocolate brown in the mass of green. He lowered his fork as he tried to remember her name from the sorting. Ted had been way too nervous before the sorting to remember much of it.

"Who are you looking at?" Lawrence Blue, the fifth year, asked him as he noticed the younger boy's searching look.

"Oh, just that girl with the long chocolatey hair. I accidentally ran into her on the train and I'm trying to remember what her name was. I was going to ask her for her name but she already walked off," Ted explained sheepishly.

"Her? The one beside Bellatrix Black? –The one with the wild messy hair talking to the guy beside her," Lawrence added when he saw Ted looking at him in question. Ted nodded in answer. "That would be Andromeda Black. Really, you should stay away from that crowd. They think they are everything and above everyone else just because they are Pureblood."

"Pureblood? What does that mean?" Ted asked curiously.

"It applies to a witch or wizard that is born from an ancestry of full witches and wizards. They consider everyone else who isn't Purebloods to be lower than them. I am guessing that you are Muggle-born by your lack of understanding," Lawrence stated, not unkindly. "Both your parents are non-magical, right? Just because of whom your parents are, the Blacks and several others will consider you to be _worthless_." He grimaced at the word.

"But that's not really fair is it?" Ted cried, dropping his fork in the process, "A person should be judged by their intelligence and kindness!"

"I agree," Lawrence said regretfully, "But that is not how things work around here."

Ted looked down at his plate, having suddenly lost his appetite. He thought that coming to Hogwarts was a great thing, but now people are going to judge him because of his parents.

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**1965: ****Second Year**

"Ew, Mudblood alert!" her friend whispered venomously as Ted Tonks walked by them in the corridor.

Annoyed, Andie automatically walked away from him with her friend to the other side of the hall as if he contained a disease. Outwardly, she was the perfect pureblood daughter: having only with Pureblood friends, ignoring the Mudbloods, and gossiping with her friends about the most suited Pureblood boy to marry. But on the inside, Andie was already _tired_ of this Pureblood and Mudblood business. Growing up with her sisters, Andie didn't know any better. However, she realized that her classmates weren't all that different. They all attended the same school, had the same teachers, and some of them were even getting better marks.

But as a Black, Andromeda had to act like a Black, even if it did mean being a total _arse_ to others and acting like someone she's not around her friends.

---------------------------

Ted cringed as he heard the word Mudblood. He had long since got used to the comment wherever he went, but it still ticked him off. He knew his friends were all angered by it but, like him, they couldn't do anything about it.

"Come on Ted," his friends said, for they saw the anger within his eyes, "There's no use arguing with that lot."

"I know, but I'm tired of being looked down by the stupid Purebloods, always thinking they're better than everyone else," Ted spat as he stalked away furiously.

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**1966: ****Third Year**

"Diggory scores! Thirty to two hundred and ten for the Hufflepuffs!"

It was a Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Andie wasn't normally interested in Quidditch but her boyfriend, Hyperion Malfoy, _insisted_ that she came. Hyperion was a distant cousin of Lucius Malfoy. Andie suspected that her family was trying to marry her off to Hyperion seeing as he was one of the only Purebloods available at Hogwarts. If she had been born a year later, her father probably would have insisted her on marrying Lucius. Andie shuddered at the thought. _Seriously_, she was only in her _third_ year and her parents were already trying to set her up.

Andie didn't even like Hyperion a bit. He was _always_ talking about the Purebloods this and Purebloods that. If not, it was either Slytherin will _definitely_ beat Hufflepuff in Quidditch and Slytherin will _definitely_ win the Cup, or something about Quidditch. Andie swore that that was all Hyperion thought about. Andromeda idly watched the match as she ignored her "boyfriend" who was boasting about how Slytherin could _definitely_ beat both the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs easily. Hyperion was the keeper (or was it chaser?... really, it was _so_ hard to pay attention to him sometimes) of the Slytherin team.

Suddenly, she noticed that the crowd was on its feet and cheering madly. It took a while before Andie realized that the two seekers have caught sight of the stitch. A blur of blue and yellow raced toward the golden snitch and the yellow blur was just a bit ahead and—

"Tonks catches the snitch! But Ravenclaw still wins with two hundred and ten to one hundred and eighty!..."

"What an idiot. He should have known that they would lose since they are behind so much in points," Hyperion sneered as parts of the crowd rushed down to congratulate the Ravenclaw team.

"Who, Tonks?" Andie asked blankly as she returned her attention back to her boyfriend.

"Duh, of course! Who else?" her boyfriend answered, "Have you been paying attention at all? I told you this was important…"

Blah, blah, blah, like anyone cared what _he_ thought. She looked across the pitch and saw that Tonks was still zooming around on his broom, looking so free like a bird. Andromeda thought how nice it would be if she could just jump on a broom and fly away from all this misery…

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Ted flew around the pitch after the game, wanting to clear his thoughts. He knew that even though he had caught the snitch, his team didn't win. But he knew that if he caught it later, Hufflepuff would have lost by even more.

Suddenly, he felt the hair on the back of his neck rose as if someone was watching him. He looked around and saw that most people were either congratulating the Ravenclaw team or had already left the pitch. Then, he saw two green dots walking towards the exit. He looked a bit closer and saw that it was Andromeda Black and her boyfriend. He frowned as he realized that it was Black who was staring at him all along. Why would _Black_ be looking at him? And she wasn't even _glaring_ at him! Ted saw that she looked quite unhappy and as if she had not rested properly. He wondered why Andromeda Black, of all people, was unhappy. She had everything: her crazy sister protected her from any unwanted attention, she was smart, and she was going out with one of the best looking people of their year. When Black realized that Ted had caught her staring at him, he smiled at her. However, she blushed and looked down as she quickly exited the pitch with her boyfriend.

Ted scratched his head as he wondered why he had _smiled_ at her. Andromeda Black was not one of the people who always called him Mudblood but she was not exactly _friendly_ to him. Maybe it was because she was so unhappy that Ted wanted to make her smile. Oh well, whatever. What's done was done. Ted shrugged and continued with his flying.

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Andie was quite _embarrassed_ when Tonks caught her staring at him. He must've thought she was crazy or something. But she couldn't help but envy him. He was always so _happy_ and so _free_, always making his friends laugh. She wished that he could make her laugh, but she knew that was impossible. She often caught herself staring at him whenever the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs had classes together.

She remembered one potion class when Tonks accidentally tripped as he was heading to Slughorn's desk to hand in his potion. The potion flew, as if in slow motion, across the room and landed right on the professor's head. The contents of the potion dripped quickly down his face. Andie couldn't help it but laugh at the scene: Slughorn's face getting redder by the second and Tonks' horrified expression. However, she quickly turned her laugh into a cough when Tonks turned around and quickly blanked her expression as if bored by the whole ordeal.

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"Shit!" Ted thought as he tripped. He was dimly aware that his potion was no longer in his hands as the floor came rushing to his face. When he looked up, he realized that he had somehow threw the potion all the way across the room and made it land on the professor's head.

_Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, he is going to murder me! Here comes one week worth of detention, _Ted dreaded, _hey wait a minute who is laughing at me?_

He whipped his head around and saw Black with her face red and coughing like crazy into her hand. When she stopped, she looked quite bored. He could have sworn that Black, Miss Ice Queen, was laughing at him! However, he didn't have time to think about it as Slughorn started yelling at him.

"MISTER TONKS!" Slughorn bellowed, "DETENTION FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK! ACUTLALY FOR THE REST OF THIS MONTH! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING THROWING THAT THING AT ME?! YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THAT IS?! GOOD THING IT IS ONLY…"

Ted gulped, the Hufflepuffs grimaced with sympathy, the Slytherins laughed out loud, and Andromeda Black chuckled silently, but Ted did not know that she was laughing at the comical scene and not at him.

**A/N Just to clarify, Hyperion was Scorpious Malfoy's middle name. I found that off the Harry Potter Lexicon. **

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**1967****Fourth Year**

"So, you're my date for the Christmas Ball."

Andie glanced up at Hyperion, not quite registering what he had just said. She was about to ask him what he was talking about when he cut in.

"Great, I will see you later," Hyperion said, _way_ too cheerfully.

She groaned frustratingly as she watched her so called boyfriend walk away from her. Hyperion was treating her like a pet, telling her what to and not to do. She could _never_ have a say in this relationship. Mind you, not that there was much a relationship. If it weren't for her parents, she would definitely not be dating him. She tried to talk to her parents about breaking up with him. What she got was her father looking very red and angry and her mother yelling at her for one hour straight before she told them that she was joking. _That_ made it worse. Her mother somehow still had the voice to continue yell at her about her inappropriate behavior.

"Oh my gosh! You and Hyperion are sooooo cute!" Emma, one of her _cough_ friends, squealed, "You two are like _the_ perfect couple!"

"Yeah I know, like _totally_ right?" Andie replied sarcastically. However, her friend didn't seem to catch on her lack of honesty because she continued on.

"Right! Anyways, I was thinking we can go look for some dresses at our next Hogsmeade trip. We could get matching ones! Or something like a blue…"

Andie growled inwardly. Life just keeps getting better and better…_not_.

---------------------------

Ted tapped his fingers nervously as he waited for Emmeline Vance, a girl he had been fancying since the beginning of the year, to leave her classroom. He wanted to ask her to the Christmas Ball before someone else did. She was quite popular and pretty amongst the fourth years.

"Hi Ted, what are you doing here?" Ted jumped as Emmeline spoke to him. It seemed that she had snuck up behind him when he wasn't paying attention.

"Oh er nothing, just passing by, you know," Ted replied nervously. "So the weather is pretty nice eh?" Ted regretted what he said immediately and mentally smacked himself.

"Um, it's raining outside. I guess you like the rain," Emmeline said, chuckling. "Anyways, are you going to the ball?"

"Yes, I think I am," Ted said, keeping his answers short.

"You think?" she asked.

"Well it depends if I can find a date or not," Ted said, and crossed his fingers as he continued, "Would you like to go to the ball with me?"

She smiled and replied, "Sure, I'd love to."

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Andie had to admit that the dress Emma had chosen for her was beautiful. It was a spaghetti-strap, full-length, mid-night blue dress with about a five inch train. The back was bare to about the waist, held elegantly together with crisscrossing lace. She wore a pair of three inch silver heels to go with the outfit. She decided to let her long light-brown locks loose, just reaching her stomach. All together, she thought that she looked gorgeous.

If only her date was half as wonderful as her dress. He was towing her around as if she was a show-dog. Everyone else seemed to be having a good time, with dates that they actually chose. But no, Miss Andie Black had to be stuck with Hyperion _bloody_ Malfoy. If she wasn't busy imagining ways of getting rid of her boyfriend, she would've notice half the girls shooting her envious looks. Not only did she catch every boy's attention but she also happened to be going out with one of the hottest guy of the year.

There was, however, one boy that was not paying attention to the Slytherin couple. Ted Tonks was _completely_ paying attention to his date. When Andie saw Tonks make Emmeline Vance laugh, she, surprisingly, felt a stab of both jealousy and envy. She was jealous of Tonks and Vance for being so happy at the ball and she was envious of Vance for having Tonks being able to make her laugh.

Throughout the whole evening, Tonks never left Vance's side. Andie even saw, with a pang at her heart, them kissing under the mistletoe during the last slow song of the evening. Andie was very confused. She had _no_ reason to be jealous of Vance and she had her own boyfriend! But she still did not understand why the sight of them kissing even bothered her one bit.

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"Andromeda Black is glaring at me," Emmeline whispered fearfully to Ted.

"That's because she's afraid that you've taken her spotlight with your beauty," Ted joked. His date blushed at the compliment.

"No, seriously! Look at her! I swear she's trying to murder me with her eyes," Emmeline insisted.

"If she's glaring at anyone, it would be me, seeing as I'm the Muggle-born here," Ted replied. "More like that's the Ice Queen's normal look."

"The Ice Queen?" Emmeline laughed.

"Yes the Ice Queen. She can freeze the room with her stare!" Ted proclaimed. "Anyways care to join me for a dance?"

"Alright, let's go," Emmeline smiled shyly.

Ted danced with Emmeline the whole ball. He felt as if he was the luckiest man on Earth dancing with the petit burnet. What completed his evening was sharing a kiss with his date under the mistletoe with no care for the world.

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	2. Hogwarts: 5th Year

**1968: ****Fifth Year**

Ted and his girlfriend continued dating after the Ball. They swiftly became known as the cutest couple, even more so than Andromeda Black and Hyperion Malfoy. During the summer, they wrote to each other frequently, but that did not stop Ted from missing his girlfriend. As soon as they found each other on the train, they quickly found an empty compartment for a – er - quick reunion. A long time passed before…

"Oh, shit! We're gonna be late for the Prefect meeting!" Ted said as he broke off from snogging his girlfriend.

"Damn!" Emmeline swore with her breath heavy and uneven. Her hair was slightly disheveled and her blouse was rumpled as she stood up and grabbed Ted's hand, "Come on let's go!"

From a quick glance at his watch, Ted knew that they were already ten minutes late.

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"Sorry, we're late," Tonks said sheepishly as he walked into the Prefect Compartment. Behind him was Vance who was looking quite embarrassed.

Andie glared at the couple as they made their way to their seats. Seriously, Prefects are supposed to responsible, not _snogging_ each others faces off all the time. _Are you sure you're not just jealous because no one is snogging _your_ face off?, _a nasty voice whispered in her head. Andie blushed at the thought and quickly turned her attention back to the Head Boy.

"So here are your patrol schedules for the week," the Head Boy said as the Head Girl handed out the schedules, "As I had said earlier before the interruption, each pair of Prefects from each House is responsible for leading the first years to their dormitory. As you all know…

He continued on with many rules and regulations for another half an hour. At the end of the lecture, he said to the whole compartment, "…Got it? Alright, I think that is good enough for today. You can all go now. Oh, and Slytherin Prefects, you are in charge of the patrol of the train for the first shift."

Andie groaned as everyone else got up and left. More time to spend with her lovely boyfriend (which she still had no idea how he had been made a Prefect seeing as he is such an idiot) while Ted Tonks got to snog with his girlfriend. _Get a hold of yourself and stop thinking of Ted Tonks! He has a girlfriend and you have a boyfriend and you should be thinking about your own boyfriend and not someone else's boyfriend,_ Andie snapped at herself, unconvincingly. She could not help but notice that Tonks was a hell lot more interesting than her stupid and boring boyfriend.

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"Tonks and Vance! Not you two again!" the Head Boy yelled at the couple as he found them glued to each other in a broom cupboard. But they sure jumped far apart when they heard him. "This is the third time catching you two since Halloween. Okay, that is it, this is the last straw! From now until the end of the year, Tonks, your patrol schedules will be switched with Malfoy's and you will be working with Black. Vance, you will be working with Malfoy. This ought to teach you two some responsibility!" The Head Boy snapped at them and walked away. Ted stared after him, with his mouth hanging open, not quite processing what just happened.

"Did he just say what I think he did?" Ted asked when he could finally talk, "I have to work with Ice Queen for the rest of the year??" Emmeline giggled at the comment and at his horrified expression.

"Oh she's not that bad…" his girlfriend said, trying to comfort him, but failing as she was trying to stop herself from bursting out and laughing.

Ted groaned, not understanding how his fifth year could start out so great and already start to, for better lack of word, suck.

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"It's Black, not Andromeda!" Andie snapped at Tonks, "Only my friends call me Andromeda and you are definitely NOT my friend!"

She turned around and stormed off. It seemed that her luck had finally run out. Out of all the people to be stuck patrolling with, it was with Tonks. Andie knew, deep down, that Tonks was definitely better than her scumbag boyfriend and that she would probably not dread patrolling as much. But she was not about to tell that to the world. After all, she was still a Black and a Black did not make friends with anyone else besides their own kind, let alone a Muggle-born.

"Alright then, Black," Ted said apprehensively as he caught up to her, "Can I just ask you one question?"

"…"

"Why are you always so cold to everyone?" he asked, after taking her silence as a yes.

"I'm not cold," she snapped. She stopped walking and rounded him, "And I frankly don't see how it's any of your problem."

"Well, actually it is my problem seeing as we're gonna be partners for the rest of the year," Tonks said cheekily as she groaned at the comment, "So I rather not have to work with someone who is such a bitch, no offense."

"That's your fault! It's your fault for goofing off during your shift with Vance! It's something called responsibility! And you know what, I don't see any solutions to this — this problem or what ever this is!" she snarled, her voice gradually getting louder and louder, carrying down the dark, empty hallway.

"For one, I think we can call each other by our first names," Tonks said in his _annoyingly_ cheerful tone, "and get to know each other you know?"

"And why would I want to get to know you?" she asked, with her eyes narrowed in suspicion, "After all I am a Black and—"

"And Blacks don't hang out with people like me, I know, I'm not stupid," Tonks said, his tone slightly colder. "But like I said, we're gonna be working together for a long time and I rather not make life a living hell. Just think about it okay?"

Andie seethed, not seeing a way out of this. Having no choice, but to nod curtly, she continued the rest of the patrol in silence.

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Throughout the rest of the year, Ted continued patrolling with Andromeda, or Dromeda as he sometimes called her (they had started calling each other by their first names just after Easter Break, though Andromeda still called him Tonks for most of the times). Slowly, but gradually, Ted managed to get her to open up more. At first, she was very reluctant to talk to him at all; having conversations with one word answers only. As time went on, the word grew into a sentence and the sentence grew into actual conversations.

Ted nearly fainted with shock when Andromeda first laughed at his joke. He realized that her laugh had a very nice ring to it. It was warm, unlike her usual persona. He hypothesized that the Ice Queen image was only a front that Andromeda put on for her family and her Pureblood stereotype. When the two of them were on patrol together, Ted found that she would slowly let her guard down and the Ice Queen would disappear, replaced by a completely different girl that fitted perfectly with the beautiful laugh. Often, when she realized how open she was, the Ice Queen would come back on and Andromeda would give him the legendary 'Black Glare' like it was all his fault.

Outside of patrols, they never talked to each other. Ted had his own friends and Andromeda had hers. Ted also knew that there was no way her friends would accept her talking to him. When they passed each other in the halls, he would sometimes smile faintly at her before moving on.

As Ted and Andromeda's relationship, or friendship as Ted liked to think, grew closer during the patrols, his with Emmeline slowly fell apart. Emmeline did not like the fact that her boyfriend spent so much time with Andromeda Black. (Even with her usual Ice Queen face, she was considered to be one of the prettiest girls of their year, and with that, Emmeline felt competition.) It wouldn't have bugged Emmeline so much if Black treated Ted like everyone else, but she often caught sight of them looking way too friendly (in Emmiline's opinion) at the end of their patrols. Her jealously couldn't help but grow and it finally snapped one Friday night at the end of May.

"…see the look on Slughorn's face!" Ted was saying to Andromeda near the end of a shift, "I honestly thought he was going to murder me, again!"

Andromeda laughed out loud, holding a hand over her mouth from looking too unlady-like. "I remember that! It was back in third year when you chucked that potion at him!–" Suddenly, she stopped talking and her face became expressionless. "Anyways I will see you next shift. Good night," Andromeda said curtly and walked off before Ted had a chance to reply.

Ted looked down the corridor and saw under the dim moonlight that Emmeline was waiting for him at the end. He frowned as he tried to remember if he had told her to wait for him or not.

"Hey Em, what are you doing here?" Ted asked her, not knowing why a small pint of guilt was slowly rising within him.

"Oh, nothing. Just waiting for my boyfriend," she said smiling strangely.

"Oh…alright then…" Ted said, "Let's get back before we get caught."

"Okay," she replied. She took his hand and started heading back towards the Hufflepuff dormitory. "So how was your shift with Black?"

"It was alright. Not much people were around. Me and Andromeda did catch Diggory and McNelly snogging in a broom cupboard though. It was about time those two got together," he said, grinning widely.

"That's interesting," she said, with a strained smile. "So why do you call her that?"

"Who?" Ted asked, confused.

"Black," she answered as they rounded a corner.

"Oh, Andromeda? Well, it is her name," he said skeptically.

"You usually don't call any Blacks by their first name," she said quietly.

"Er well she is my patrol partner, nothing wrong with that," he said. They walked a bit in silence before Emmeline spoke again.

"I don't like how close you are getting with her," she said so quietly that Ted almost didn't hear her.

"What?" Ted said in shock, "She's just my patrol partner!"

"Black never has manners with anyone yet she said goodnight to you," Emmeline said, continuing over him as if he never spoke.

"That's ridiculous!" Ted exclaimed. By this point, they had both stopped walking and were facing angrily at each other. "She was just being polite!"

"All the Blacks are never polite! Just the other day, the sister of your precious patrol partner knocked me off my feet and all she did was sneer and laugh at me before she walked off!"

"That doesn't mean that Andromeda is rude! You know how wild Bellatrix is! Andromeda is—"

"Oh here we go with the first name again!" Emmeline practically yelled, "Really, if she's so _amazing_ why don't YOU TWO go out already! Seriously, you guys are—"

"Why can't you just trust me??" Ted roared.

"Because I see the way you stare at her when she walks away!" she screamed at him.

"What do you mean? I don't stare at her any differently! She's a Pureblood and I'm Muggle-born don't you get it!?"

"Oh I get it perfectly," Emmeline laughed wildly. "It's you who is not getting it!"

Ted opened his mouth to protest but Emmeline cut in and yelled, "And it still doesn't change the fact that you're head over heels for her!"

It seemed like as if time had frozen. Both teenagers glared daggers at each other with their red face as if they had just ran the whole Quidditch pitch length. A ringing silence that followed the argument became even more pronounced as time passed by.

"That's — that's preposterous," Ted finally stammered after the long pause.

"See! You don't even try _denying_ it!" she growled frustratingly

"Well what do you expect me to do?! It's not like you'll believe me anyways!" Ted exploded.

Emmeline paused, and then quietly said, "You know what, that's true." She looked up into her eyes with an unreadable expression. "Then I guess that's it."

"What's 'that's it?'" he asked and she glared.

"Argh, I had enough of you Ted Tonks! We're over! You hear me?! We. Are. OVER!!" She screamed and stormed off to the dormitory

Ted didn't know how long he stood there, staring at where Emmeline had been. He was hoping that, just maybe, this was all a horrible nightmare and he would wake up any second. But he soon realized that this thing he called a nightmare was as real as reality. The moment that Emmeline broke up with him, he felt two emotions. One was heartache (after all, they did go out for more than a year and Ted truly did care for her). The other was relief.

He admitted that ever since Andromeda became his patrol partner, he was intrigued by her. After every shift, he found himself wishing for time to pass by faster for the next shift. However, that doesn't stop the feeling of heartache from taking over all his other emotions, and leaving him even more confused than ever.

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Andie tapped her foot impatiently and glanced at her watch for what seemed to be the fiftieth time. Ted Tonks was late; he was _never_ late. After another five minutes, which felt like another hour to Andie, Ted – no _Tonks_ – finally showed up.

"Why are you late?" she snapped, letting her impatience get the better of her.

"None of your business," he replied rudely.

"What do you mean none of my business? You're my patrol partner, and either you like it or not, you are my responsibility! What were you doing? Snogging Vance again?" she sneered.

"No actually, we broke up yesterday, if it's any of your business. Happy now?!" he yelled at her. Andie stopped in her tracks, stunned with his outburst. He looked so heart broken that she muttered quietly, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright; it was my fault for being late and yelling at you," he replied gruffly. She patted his shoulder awkwardly. She blushed and quickly put her hand down when she realized what she was doing. Andie stared into his face to see if he noticed but it seemed that Ted was too upset to notice her abnormal behavior. Andie wished she could make him feel better but she didn't know how to. So for the rest of the night, the two fifth years patrolled in complete, yet somehow comforting, silence.

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	3. Hogwarts: 6th Year

**1969: ****Sixth Year**

_September 1__st__, end of prefect meeting on the Hogwarts Express. _

"I guess we're partners again eh?" Ted said as each of the prefects left the compartment, leaving them the only two left.

"Mm, I guess so," Andromeda said, not really paying attention for she was trying juggle her numerous books and cloak and lunch with her two hands. She suddenly cursed when her books slipped out of her hands, which followed quickly by her lunch. Ted chuckled at her language but was swiftly silenced by her glare. He bent down quickly to help her pick up her things.

"I wonder why that is," Ted said conversationally, "It's not like Em and I are snogging in broom closets anymore."

"I heard from Hyperion that Vance requested to continue with the same partner as last year because of personal reasons," Andromeda told him as they straightened up.

"Ahh…I see…" he said somewhat awkwardly, "Anyways, how was your summer?"

"It was okay yours?" she replied as she put her books into her bag.

"It was okay too, it could've been better though," he said smiling weakly, trying to act like as if nothing was wrong. The look in Andromeda's eyes showed that she knew what he was talking about. He also knew that she wasn't exactly used to comforting people so he continued and said, somewhat shyly, "I want to thank you, though, for you know, what you did for me last May."

She stared at him blankly, "What? Me? What did I do?"

"For being there for me when Em broke up with me."

"But I didn't even do anything…"

"True but I think you being there helped a lot. It was definitely better than if I had to go through it alone," he said sincerely.

She averted her eyes, looking slightly embarrassed, not knowing quite what to say. What she didn't realize, though, was that she had a small silly smile on her face and her cheeks were slightly flushed. Ted grinned widely when he saw her face and said, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you are blushing Andromeda Black."

"What?! No I am not!" she denied, and hastily said, "Anyways I will see you at patrol, Tonks." She quickly left the compartment and slid the door shut behind her. He chuckled again and left soon after her. He didn't know why but he had a feeling that this year was going to be a lot better than last year.

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"Where are you going, Andie?"

"Patrolling, if it's any of your business Cissy," Andie said coldly on her way out of the Slytherin Dungeon.

"Again? With that Mudblood?" Narcissa sneered, making Andie stop in her tracks.

"How do you know about that?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly with anger and annoyance.

"Lucius told me that Hyperion has been complaining that his darling girlfriend is hardly ever spending anytime with him," she said, and continued with an evil smile, "What would our parents think?"

"You think I have any choice? Like I would _want_ to spend any time with that Mudblood!" Andie spat, hating herself for insulting Tonks. But she didn't have any choice because if her sister tattled on her, her parents just might threaten to take her out of Hogwarts. Good Merlin, her parents could be so serious sometimes. And she had no doubt that her little sister would tattle on her given the chance. Out of the three sisters, Bella was the craziest, Cissy the nosiest, and Andie, herself, the coldest (at least from what others can tell). "You go tell Lucius to tell Hyperion if he has any complaints, he can come to me." With that said, she stalked out of the dungeon.

Andie was still fuming when she met up with Tonks ten minutes later. She was so angry that even in the cold November corridors, she was still warm. Her scarf hung loosely on her neck and her cloak was half undone. Tonks noticed her angry state and had enough sense not to tick her off, which was just fine by her. They continued patrolling in silence, which was broken quite frequently by Tonks' sneezes.

"Do you need a tissue?" Andie asked, barely controlling her annoyance, when Tonks sneezed for the tenth time.

"No, I'll be fine," Tonks said, sneezing yet again, "It's just these corridors are just so bloody cold!"

Without a word, Andie took her scarf off her neck and handed it to Tonks. "Wait, what are you doing?" he said, staring at her in shock.

"I don't need you getting sick and leaving me to do the patrols by myself," Andie said shortly.

"Great to see you're so caring," Tonks sarcastically said as he wrapped her scarf around his neck. "I'll return it to you tomorrow in Transfiguration."

"It's alright, you keep it. I have a bunch of them in my dormitory," Andie said hastily, not looking at him.

"And you also can't have the other people knowing that you lend me your scarf right?" he said critically.

She said nothing but kept on walking. Since when had Tonks become _so_ perspective? Nah, he was probably only just a very good Legilimenist or something…

After a moment of walking in silence, Andie noticed a small figure sneaking around at the end of the corridor and swiftly lit her wand. She relaxed after recognizing who it was. "Sirius Black, what in Merlin's name are you doing out at this time of night?"

The boy jumped around guiltily but smiled wildly as he saw who it was. "Hey Andie!" –Tonks' eyebrows rose that her nickname – "You see, that's a funny story. I was just out going to— "

"Cut the crap Sirius," Andie cut in, "We both know you're up to no good."

"Aw, come on coz. I thought we were best friends!" he said cheekily. Seeing that Andie was about to lash out at him Ted quickly said, "You better get out of here. Andromeda is not in the best of moods today."

"Andromeda? Wow, that makes her sound like an old lady," Sirius joked. Andie's eyes narrowed further in anger and her wand rose dangerously. Noticing that he had gone too far, Sirius quickly backed away and said, "Alright then, I'll just head back to the tower. 'Night, Andie. Bye – er – Tonks, right? Seeker of Hufflepuff team? I think I've seen you around before."

"Yeah, it's Tonks. Ted Tonks."

"'Night Teddy!" Sirius said as he rounded the corner.

Ted's eyes widened in horror. "Teddy? Oh God…My name has been disfigured," Ted in a disgusted voice.

Andie turned around to continue their patrol. She could barely contain her chuckle at his comment and at how ridiculous he looked in her scarf. She could hardly believe how much her mood had risen since the beginning of patrol.

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On Christmas day, amongst her large pile of present was one hastily wrapped gift with a Father Christmas pattern on it. Andie tore it open and a small note fell out. It read:

_Merry Christmas, Andromeda. Hope this scarf will keep you warm for the holidays._

—_T.T_

Andie smiled at the note. She picked up the silver and black checkered scarf and buried her face in it. The scarf may not be the most expensive gift out of all her other gifts, but it was definitely the one that she liked the best.

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"Sirius, what's your excuse this time?" Ted asked as he caught Sirius on his way back from patrolling. This time, however, he was not alone; he was with three other boys. "And you brought company, too."

"Oh, just a night time stroll," Sirius said sheepishly. He was shuffling his feet as if trying to hide something behind his back without being too obvious. His eyes kept darting to the painting with the fruit bowl for some odd reason. "Guys, this is Teddy" –Ted glared at him; he did _not_ like being called Teddy at all – "Teddy, this is James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Petigrew."

Ted said hi to each of them. As the formalities were going on, he swore he thought he heard James hiss, "I _told_ you we should've brought the invisibility cloak," to Sirius as he was shaking Lupin's hand.

"So, Sirius, I'm sorry but this time I really have to put you in detention," Ted said, trying to be stern."

"Aw, come on, Teddy! Just this once?" Sirius whined.

"Oh really? What about that time before Easter break? And the one before that, and the one before Christmas Break," Ted listed, "Do I need to go on?"

"…How about a compromise?"

"What kind?" Ted said humouring him and playing along.

"What about you let my buddies go in exchange for some information?" Sirius bargained.

"On?"

"Oh, you'll be interested trust me. Just let my friends go and I'll tell you!" he said, grinning widely.

Ted signed and nodded; Sirius' three friends smirked at each other and skipped off. Even without any compromises, he had a feeling that Sirius would have had found a way to talk himself out of detention. Maybe it's just that he's too soft.

"So what kind of information do you have that you think I'll be interested in?" Ted asked.

"You'll be interested for sure," Sirius smiled wickedly and said, "It's on my coz."

Ted blinked and tried to ignore the fluttering feeling in his stomach. It's true that he might have some feelings for Andromeda but he had it buried so deep that he just pretend it isn't true. After all, she was _very_ pretty and she has a great personality when she wasn't being the usual Ice Queen. He folded his arms and decided to play dumb. "And why do you think I'll be interested?"

"Don't think I don't see you staring puppy eyes at her when you think she's not looking," Sirius scoffed accusingly. Ted had to admit that Sirius is a lot more observant than he gave him credit for.

"Well, it's not like I have any chance with her," Ted sighed, "She's Pureblood and I'm Muggle-born. And she also has a boyfriend."

"Who? Hyperion Malfoy?... Oh hah! Him? The only reason they're going out is because of their family, especially Andie's parents. That lot is worst than my parents, and that's saying something!"

Ted didn't even hear the last part for he had started jumping for joy inwardly. He had always thought that Andromeda's relationship with her boyfriend was kind of odd. They did not look like any of the lovesick couples around the school. The only time that Ted saw them together was during meal times and they weren't even talking to each other half the time.

"So do you think I might have a chance with her," Ted asked excitedly.

"Maybe," Sirius said thoughtfully, "One of the reasons that Andie and I get along so well is because we are both, ironically, black sheeps of our family. We both don't agree with our parents' belief in Purebloodlism. So really, Andie has been pretty much force to act like who she is because of her family. Kinda like being locked up in an internal cage or something."

"That sure explains why she's such an Ice Queen," Ted snorted softly.

"Yeah, but she's not usually like that when it was just us as kids," Sirius commented, "Well anyways I think I should go now as much as this chat is entertaining. I don't want to be caught by McGonagall again… I told you that you would find this interesting." Sirius smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ted said rolling his eyes, "Get your smart arse to sleep now."

"Yes, sir!" he said mockingly. 'Night Teddy! Don't dream about Andie to much," Sirius called after him as he ran off.

Ted snorted as he headed back towards his dormitory. Now that he had officially admitted that he fancied Andromeda Black, it was time to find out how she felt about him.

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"I can't believe it," Andromeda fumed, stalking off angrily, "This is the second time we caught Sirius and his friends tonight. He really needs to stop messing around so much! I can just imagine what Auntie Walburga would say if she finds out. And Merlin knows what they were doing with a camera!"

"Sirius told me that they were trying blackmail some kid named Snope. Or was it Snap? Nah, I think it was Snape," Ted said thoughtfully while inspecting the confiscated camera, "I think your cousin and his friends are actually quite funny."

"Since when have you guys become best friends?" Andromeda grumbled as they continued patrolling.

"Well, I've helped him out a few times and he's clued me in on some things," Ted said and continued hastily, "Anyways, what are you doing for the summer?"

"Don't know. I probably have to spend some time with Hyperion," Andromeda said, not looking at him. Although it wasn't obvious, Ted noticed the resentment in her voice and it gave him confidence and courage for what he was about to say.

"What's up with you and him anyways?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Andromeda said and stopped walking. She looked at him quizzically. "We've been going out since third year."

"I mean you guys don't even like each other," Ted said.

"Of course we like each other," Andromeda said as-a-matter-of-fact, but there was a slight uncertainty in her voice. "That's why we're going out."

"No, Sirius told me that it was because of your parents," Ted stated.

"Stupid nosy brat," Andromeda muttered angrily and then said louder, "Well that doesn't change the fact Hyperion is my boyfriend. And why would _you _care anyways?"

Ted gazed into her eyes intently and considered for a moment before saying, "Because I like you. Heck, I think I even love you. I think I started falling in love with you in fifth year."

Andromeda gasped in surprise. She gaped at him in silent, not quite knowing what to say. "That doesn't make sense," Andromeda finally said, "Because you were going out with Vance back then."

"And that's the reason we broke up," Ted said quietly while slowly stepping towards her, "She noticed that I was starting to like you even before _I_ realized."

"But – but you don't even _know_ me," Andie stuttered nervously as she backed away from him.

"Actually, I know you better than you think. I know for a fact that you favorite colour is blue and not green. You're always wearing something blue, whether it's a blue necklace, a blue ring, or the blue earrings you have on right now," gesturing at her ears. By the shocked expression on her face, he knew that he was right. "That's why I got you the scarf in that colour."

"No, it was black and silver!" Andromeda countered and continued backing away from him.

"If you look closely, you can see tiny threads of blue weaving through the silver," Ted supplied. "I know you actually like flying on brooms but you hate Quidditch because of your so called boyfriend. I know the person that is closest to you as a real friend is Sirius because you really just can't stand Emma and the other girls." He took another step towards her so that she was trapped between the wall and him. He looked down into her eyes and softly said, "And I know that you desperately wish to be _free_ of this life you are living in."

He slowly lowered his face towards hers. Her eyes involuntarily fluttered close for one second before she snapped them open again and shoved him away from her.

"What are you doing? I have a boyfriend!" she snapped at him.

"A boyfriend that doesn't even _care_ about you!" he snapped back just as angrily.

"Yes he does!" she screamed and stormed off. Ted followed closely after her. As they turned the corner, they saw a couple kissing quite intimately. Even from their distance, it is quite obvious who the guy was from his bright blond hair.

"I rest my case," Ted said, quite smugly too, from behind her.

Andromeda said nothing and her face showed no expression. She turned around, grabbed the camera off Ted's hands, went up to the couple and snapped a quick picture of them. Satisfied, she turned back and stalked off.

"Andie, wait baby, I can explain!" Hyperion Malfoy cried at her. He tried to run after her but ended up tripping on his shoe lace as he was detangling himself from the redhead he was just snogging with.

"Don't bother, there's nothing to explain," she called after him.

Ted stared after her in stunned silence as she walked away. His mind quickly caught on and he chased after her. As he caught up to her he said, "I'm sorry I didn't mean for you to see it like—"

He broke off as Andie pushed him roughly against the wall, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. Ted could feel all the emotion and pent up passion flowing through her as he quickly responded. He wrapped one hand around her waist and turned her around so that her back was against the wall. One of his hands tilted her face up while he wrapped another hand through her silky curls. He could still feel the camera digging into his neck as she drew him even closer …

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The next morning, Andie promptly sent the pictures of Malfoy and his girl to her parents along with a letter explaining that she broke up with him for good reasons. Her parents were outraged with Malfoy's behavior (though Andie suspected that they were angrier at the fact that they would have to find another suitor for her) and finally allowed her to break up with him after almost four years of 'dating.'

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	4. Hogwarts: 7th Year

**1970: Seventh**** Year**

(THIS NEXT PART IN ITALICS IS NOT REALLY NESCESSARY. IT'S JUST RANDOM FILLINGS SO IF YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE READING IT, JUST SKIP TILL THE NON-ITALICS PART. THANKS.)

_Hey Teddy,_

_I can't believe how boring it is here. Bellatrix is hardly ever here because she is always at the Lestrange's and Narcissa is spending more and more time with Lucius Malfoy. Yes, Lucius Malfoy, as the one who is the cousin of Hyperion. I think my parents are thinking of engaging those two when Narcissa graduate. Imagine that… That would mean becoming official family with Hyperion and I thought I had escaped that. Really, you've got to save me from this…_

_You can't believe how much I miss you. I really hate that we can't see each other properly because of my stupid parents. It is so bloody (excuse my language) frustrating!! I can't believe that I didn't really notice how much they suppress me. But don't worry, I will find away to see you before school starts at least. So anyways, I'm sorry but this letter will be shorter than the rest because I am going to visit Sirius' family later. At least they are better company than the ones I'm with right now (well maybe only Sirius and his brother are better company; their parents are pretty… nasty shall I say). Anyways, you know the drill! Owl me soon okay? I don't want to die of boredom and I know you'll miss me ever so much if I do (I'm just kidding by the way but I am serious about sending that owl as soon as you can)._

_Love,_

_Andie_

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_Hey Andie,_

_Wow, sounds like you're having you're having so much fun this summer! (Note the sarcasm here) Well, it's not that much better here. I've been hanging out with my Muggle friends that I went to school with before Hogwarts. They don't know that I'm a wizard you see; they think I go to some faraway school during the year. This sucks because I can't use magic in front of them and the only time I can use magic is at home where no one else except my parents can see. Sucks to be stuck in a Muggle village eh?_

_I miss you too. I can't believe I haven't seen you since term ended! And I still can't believe that I have to pretend to be your friend Emma. Don't your parents get suspicious that you are writing so much to her? I mean you aren't even close with her. Well, at least you get to go somewhere and Sirius will sure keep your hands full. He sure is such a troublemaker. Say hi to him for me will you? If you get the chance to that is. Anyways, I do hope that you find a way out of your house because I don't think I can wait until September first to see you._

_Love,_

_Ted_

_P.S: Please don't call me Teddy. You sound like Sirius and that is just plain weird…_

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_Teddy!_

_Well, too bad. I happen to think that Teddy suits you. You're just like a huggable Teddy Bear (I'm kidding!! Or am I?...). Anyways I'm writing to tell you that Sirius' mum asked me to take him to Diagon Alley the week before school starts. So this means that I can finally see you without raising any suspicions! I'm going to this short until I see you. Which is in three days and two hours, but whose counting right?_

_Your love,_

_Andie_

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"HEY TEDDY! WE'RE OVER HERE!" Sirius bellowed. Several shoppers in Diagon Alley turned and stared at the source of the noise.

"Shh! Shut up Sirius," Andie hissed, "Can you be any louder? Geez, I don't need anyone recognizing us. My parents will literally murder me!"

"Oh, right. Sorry," Sirius said sheepishly.

"Hey, Sirius. I thought I could hear your voice from all the way at the end of the street," Ted joked as he caught up to them.

"Well, you know me," Sirius said, putting on one of his most innocent smile. After glancing at his hair, Sirius added, "I like what you've done with your hair."

Ted's normally fair hair was now dyed black. He grinned and said, "I know. I thought this wouldn't be as conspicuous. People will just think we're cousins or something." Ted then turned to face Andie and took her hands into his and said softly, "Hey Andie, I missed you."

"Me too," Andie said, looking down. His eyes were so soft and filled with love that she blushed. She didn't know why she had all the sudden became so shy. As she was about to say something more, Sirius started tugging on her sleeves.

"Come on, Andie," Sirius whined, "I want to go to Quality Quidditch Supplies. I promised James that I'd meet him there."

"Oh, alright," Andie said grudgingly, trying not to scowl as she allowed Sirius to pull her along. Today was supposed to be her and Ted's special day since they haven't seen each other for almost two months. But now they've got to baby-sit Sirius. Andie sighed, knowing that nothing is perfect.

Before she knew it, they had reached the store. Outside the store, they saw a young boy with messy dark hair waiting for them. "Hey James!" Sirius called out loudly. "Guess who I saw earlier? I saw Evans with her parents back at Flourish & Blotts."

"And why would I care?" James said in what he thought would be a non-committal voice; however, he gave himself away as he started looking around the street as if searching for someone. Sirius snorted when he caught James' wondering eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure you don't care at all," Sirius said sarcastically. "Anyways, do you think I can crash at your place for today?" He then added in a quieter voice, "So we can give those two–" he hitched his thumb at Andie and Ted "–some alone time."

James looked at the older teenagers as if seeing them for the first time. He caught on quickly and grinned mischievously at Sirius. "Yeah, sure; great idea. Mum will love having you over."

"Alright," Sirius replied, grinning just as mischievously. He then announced to the couple, "Hey Andie, I'll be going over to James place for today. You two can go and do whatever you want. Just pick me up after dinner 'cause my mum won't be expecting me 'till then."

"Actually, you two can come over for dinner, too" James continued right on as Andie was, no doubt, about to interrupt. "My mum loves having company over."

"That's fine by me… What do you think?" Ted asked Andie uncertainly.

"I guess so," Andie said, slightly flustered at the fast pace of decisions. One second she was stuck to be babysitting Sirius for the rest of the day, and next, she got to spend the rest of the time alone with Ted. She didn't know whether she should be jumping for joy or breaking down in nervousness. After all, this was the first time that the two of them were going out on an official date.

"Okay then, we'll see you at dinner. Bye!" Sirius said as he followed James into the Quality Quidditch Supplies before either of them could change their minds.

"So, where do you want to go?" Andie asked, somewhat awkwardly.

"Hmm…" Ted said thoughtfully. After pausing for a moment, he asked her, "Have you ever been to Muggle London before, Miss Andie?"

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Ted thought that it had been the best day of summer. Heck, it had been the best day of his _whole_ seventeen-year life. After alternating their clothes to Muggle clothing at The Leaky Cauldron, the two of them passed through the pub and into the streets of Muggle London.

Andie had been amazed by everything, from the cars to the funny bright clothing that people were wearing and to the odd smell that floated through the city. Ted first took her to a nearby zoo, transporting by public bus. When they first got on bus and the vehicle started moving, Andie gasped in surprise and laughed lightly. Her eyes widened even farther when they stepped into the zoo. She was as energetic and as cheerful as any of the other children that were there; her face was flushed with excitement, her smile reached each ends of her face, and she was rushing from one animal exhibit to the next.

Ted noticed how much Andie was like herself the entire day. She could be free to let loose knowing that she didn't have to be anyone she didn't want to be. This made Ted fall even more in love with her. And he told her just so as they were eating ice-cream while touring around the city. He remembered her smiling slightly and saying…

"_I'm already in love with you." Andie laughed when she saw him looking surprised at her confession. "You gave me something that no one else could: my freedom. I think I started falling for you back in Third Year when I saw you flying on your broom. It was then that I realized just _how_ much I wished to be free, to be like you, flying so naturally without a care for the world. I started wondering why I had to live the life that my parents wanted me to. It's my life and I should be in control shouldn't I?–" She stated confidently._

_She continued on in a softer tone, filled with past memories and pain,"–Then, I saw you around your friends and saw how much you made them laugh. I remembered wishing that you could make _me_ laugh –like the way you made _them_ laugh– so that I could forget all my troubles. I've never laughed as much with all my friends than I did with you for one evening. I remembered seeing how happy and content Vance was when you two were dating. I remembered seething with envy that one boy could make her be like that. _

_You were like a shining star in the pitch black night that I stood in. I didn't even notice how much more eager I started to be for patrol back in fifth year. You made me happier and lighter than I could _ever_ remember. But I never showed it of course. I think I was in denial," she concluded, smiling ruefully. She then added in a whispered, "I'm really glad to have you in my life, Ted Tonks. You don't know how much you have saved me from."_

_Ted's eyes softened at her words and he drew his arm around her tightly so that she was right up against him. He kissed her forehead and said simply, "I'm glad, too. You really are a gem, Andromeda Black."_

Then, as the day got darker, they went into an abandoned alley to apparate to the Potter Mansion. Although both Mr. and Mrs. Potter were surprised to see the daughter of Cygnus and Druella Black standing in front of them, and with a Muggle-born no less, they were very welcoming. They ushered them into the house with great warmth, as if they had known the teenagers their entire lives.

Just as Ted had suspected, dinner was indeed very eventful. He had no idea how Mr. and Mrs. Potter managed to take care of one troublemaker, let alone two. Though, it did seem that Sirius was like a second son to them and a brother to James. Ted suspected that Sirius spent as much time at the Potter's house as he did at his own. James and Sirius kept the whole table laughing throughout all the delicious courses with their jokes and mischief. Ted noticed that the older Potters pampered James very much and he guessed that was what contributed to James' cockiness and arrogance.

Ted remembered Andie telling him, quietly, that this was what dinner was supposed to be like: full of laughter and warmth. At her home, dinners were always so formal; it was like they were having grand guests over at their house every day or something. Andie swore that she could feel the frost forming on her hands as they ate each day.

After desert, Andie politely told the Potters that she had to leave, along with Sirius and Ted, because she had promised Sirius' parents that she would bring him back soon. The Potters understood completely as they had heard about the legendary Black temper. They kept the good-byes short and invited both Andie and Ted for dinner again sometime, which they both accepted gratefully.

After the trio had apparated to a field near Sirius' house, Sirius had enough good graces to have had his head turned away when Ted and Andie were saying goodbye. The couple didn't say it outloud but they could see from each other's eyes that they both wished for the day would last forever. They knew that once school started, things would be different with everyone around; much more different.

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Andie sighed contently, wrapped in Ted's arms under the pouring rain. It had been harder and harder for the two of them to find time for each other, especially with NEWTs coming up at the end of the year and everything. Also, if they both consistently disappeared together, it would become very suspicious. Ted's friends all knew about their relationship and they had welcomed Andie warm-heartedly into their lives. They didn't really know her but they knew how happy she made Ted and that was enough for them.

The couple finally found time to meet each other one cloudy October afternoon. They spent the whole afternoon under the shade of a willow tree beside the lake that covered up their view from any unwanted observers. The couple told each other how their days were and Ted occasionally made her laugh with his witty and slightly corny jokes. Before they knew it, the day was gradually getting darker and soon, it started to rain. Neither of them wanted to leave so Ted hugged Andie closely so that they could keep each other warm from the rain. They were both content with where exactly they were, as if they were meant to be there forever.

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"Watch where you're going, Black," Ted said coldly when he ran into her in the corridor. At least that was what everyone saw. When they made contact with each other, Ted skillfully slid a note into her bag. Andie swore she could see a ghost of a smile on his face as he passed by.

She glared at him and snarled, "You were the one who ran into me, you idiot." With that said, she stuck up her nose and stalked away. As soon she was alone, she tore open her bag and rummaged for the note. She quickly found it and unfolded it so fast that she almost ripped it. On the piece of parchment in Ted's large, neat handwriting, it read:

_Meet me at the same place, same time._

_-T.T_

She smirked at the note. For the past few weeks since the end Christmas Break, they had been sneaking out to Hogsmeade thanks to the secret route that Sirius had kindly revealed to them (more like bargained for since they caught him and his friends out of bed _again_). Even though Andie was scared to death that someone would find out, the _thrill_ of the whole ordeal and seeing Ted was well worth it.

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A midnight black owl landed in front of Ted with a large parcel. Ted swiftly untied the parcel and the owl flew away, spraying bits of his breakfast at him. He opened it and found a large egg covered with a teddy bear pattern. His friends smirked at the wrapping, knowing full well who it was from. Ted glanced at the Slytherin table and briefly caught Andie's eyes. She smiled at him, telling him that she got his egg through her glance, and quickly looked away.

Ted grinned happily and swiftly started on the chocolate. By the end of the day, he had finished it and found a note inside it that said, _Happy Easter, my dear._

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"We should get back before anyone notices," Andie said, breathing heavily against the wall. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were swelling.

"We should," Ted murmured, but he continued trailing kisses down along her neck. One of his arms was wrapped around her tightly, almost possessively, and the other one was holding the wall for support. One of his legs was grinding between hers, keeping her trapped between him and the wall.

"Oh, sod it all," Andie said, giving up and crashing her lips back onto his. She dug her hands into his blond locks to bring him as close as possible. She groaned as his tongue swept through her mouth passionately.

Slowly, her hands found their way past his shoulder, down his body to his chest and under his dress robes. They roamed freely over his well-toned muscles from Quidditch training. She smiled against his lips as she felt him shudder. He brought his hand back up from her waist to tilt her face higher, all the while grinding his body heatedly against hers. As she continued to explore his chest, his hand slid back past her shoulders, slipping the strap of her dress off. It continued past her waist and around as he cupped her bottom gently. She squeaked in surprise but continued kissing him in delight. She felt his hands go even lower, past the end of her dress, which only reached her mid-thighs. Andie withdrew her hands from his chest and held one of them over his large hand that was on her thighs as dug his fingers into her leg and slowly drew the dress up. As this was happening, Ted had pulled her other hand above her head and entwined them with his.

"I love you so much, Ted," Andie breathed when she stopped kissing him for gulp air.

"I love you more," Ted said, "I will love you for—"

He was cut off from the sounds of footsteps outside. "Andie, where are you?" they heard a voice whine.

"Bloody _hell_, that's Emma looking for me," Andie hissed. Ted swiftly backed away from her as she rearranged her dress. She grabbed his hand and led him towards the door that was away from the source of the voice. "Quickly, out this way before she finds us. Thank Merlin there was another exit to this classroom."

They swiftly made their way out the room and down the corridors towards the Great Hall. "You go back to the ball first," Andie instructed Ted as they passed by the girl's washroom. She stood in front of him and wiped the lipstick traces off his face and lips. "I'm going to tidy myself up first. Plus, it will be less obvious if we go back separately."

"Alright, see you later, babe," Ted said quietly as he hurried back to the festive.

Andie stepped into the washroom and saw from the mirrors that her hair was messed up and her lipstick was smeared everywhere along her cheeks. Her low cut red dress was rumpled and one of the straps of her dress was still hanging off her shoulder from the earlier activity. With a quick swish of her wand, her appearance was as good as new. She grinned at her reflection. Tonight was the graduation ball for the seventh years. She and Ted had been bored within the first few minutes for they couldn't be seen together publicly (they had both decided to attend the ball alone, on the surface at least) and had swiftly snuck away in secret into an empty classroom.

She did a final check on herself before swishing out of the washroom and back to the dance.

**A/N: Anyone know where the kissing scene was from? x)**

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Ted sat on the grass with his legs sprawled in front of him and his arms behind him to support his weight. Andie was sitting closely next to him, hugging her knees to her chest. It was the last night that they would ever be at Hogwarts, that is unless they decide to become teachers. Ted had taken Andie to the Room of Requirements (thanks to Sirius' tip, again). He had required the room to become a hilly landscape with a small pond and a few small trees. In the middle of the field, or room, was a campfire with a tent beside it. The couple was currently sitting with their backs facing the warmth of the fire and staring up at the starry sky.

They had been sitting quite comfortably in silence for a while now. Neither of them wanted to break the peace because they knew that if they did, they would have to talk about the future and whether or not they would be a part of each other's lives. They had managed to avoid raising any suspicion throughout the year, even from Andie's little sister, but they both knew it would be near impossible to retain their relationship after graduation.

Ted was snapped out of his reverie when he heard a small sniffle beside him. He glanced at Andie and saw, quite alarmingly, that tears were silently pouring down her face. Before he could say anything, she spoke softly:

"I'm scared Ted," her voice trembling, "I'm scared that my parents will just find someone else for me to marry after we graduate. Then what? What will happen to us? You're the best thing that has ever happened to me and I don't ever _ever_ want to let you go. But how can I have you in my life when I know that my mum and dad will absolutely despise you because of your 'blood-status.' I just don't know what to do anymore," she cried out tearfully.

Ted looked at her sadly and hugged her close. He was aching to know the answers to the same questions but calming Andie down was his priority at the moment. He made soothing sounds, hoping to lessen her pain. "Shh, it's okay, honey. We'll think of something. No one can ever tear us apart." It was a long time before Andie's flow of tears seized. After a while, the only sounds that were heard were the crackling of the fire behind them and Andie's occasional sniff.

Suddenly, Ted was hit with a brilliant idea. He couldn't believe that he had never thought about it before. He turned Andie's face so that she was staring straight into his eyes. "Run away with me, Dromeda. Run away and we can be together. With screaming kids around the house and everything!" he whispered excitedly to her.

She chuckled shakily as he kissed her stray tears off her face. "But where will we stay?"

"My parents own a small cottage in the country where I'd used to go in the summer. Actually, the view looks similar to this," he said gesturing around. "You don't have to answer me now," he continued, seeing the turmoil within her eyes, "Think about it and give me your answer tomorrow on the train."

"Okay," she whispered, smiling, touched that he was so thoughtful.

She leaned into him and kissed him, softly at first. Things heated up quickly as Ted pulled her on top of him as he laid back down on the grass so that she was straddling him. They continued to kiss each other passionately as if there was no tomorrow. His hands were moving up and down her back. Andie's hair fell like a curtain around him and her hands were wrapped around his head possessively.

Ted quickly realized how serious the situation was becoming when he felt Andie's small fingers unbuttoning his shirt. He stopped kissing her and looked into her eyes seriously. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Ted asked her, knowing full well where this was leading.

"Yes, this is the surest I have been my whole life," her voice sounding confident, but her eyes betrayed a small amount of nervousness. Nevertheless, she said in a husky tone, "Make love to me, Ted."

He smiled at her, and saw that her eyes mirrored his emotions: passion, lust, happiness, and most of all, love. He rolled her off him and stood up. As he picked her up in his arms, she laughed heartedly in delight and pulled his dead down to kiss her. They continued to kiss as he carried her into the tent, where they stayed the whole night, together.

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The next afternoon, as Narcissa Black was getting off the train and onto the platform, she found a note pinned to the top of her trunk; it had probably been placed there when she had went back to the train to grab her cloak. As she read it, she eyes widened in disbelief and the note slipped out of her fingers. It fluttered onto the ground where the words were facing up, visible for all to see. It read:

_Cissy,_

_I know Mum and Dad, Bella, and you won't understand this but I need to explain before I do this: I am running away with Ted Tonks. I knew that our parents wouldn't allow me to stay with Ted because of their prejudice against Muggle-borns. You are probably wondering right now how I could do such a thing and leave my family for a "Mudblood" (as you would put it). It is because Ted is a great man; he is loyal, brave, passionate, and most of all, he loves me for who I am. We choose to stay in this relationship on our own free will and not because our parents forced us to. You probably don't understand how my love for Ted can make me want to leave everything behind, but I don't expect you to. I can only hope that someday that you will find someone who loves you as much as I love Ted. My last advice to you is to not let our parents control your life; only you should ever be in control of your own life. Farewell, my sister._

_Always,_

_Andie_

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**A/N: So, I've decided to end the story here. I also changed the title of the story to Always. I'm going to continue the rest of the story in a sequel, called 'And Forever.' It's going to be in a different format than this one, so that's why I'm making it as a separate story. It's going to be short drabbles. Each drabble for a particular point in time (probably gonna be around 20 of them). It's up in my profile for you guys to check it out. Thanks for reading! Review please!!**


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